Everything up to this point has been extremely on-point and this new re-up of Wu-life (Ghostdeini, OB4CL2, Blackout!2) has certainly been welcome. Now with the first official single and a gangload of excellent art direction, this might just make moves!

That being said, not sure why they decided to go with this — not hating but I would’ve gone with one of the other joints — but either way, I still appreciate.

After an absolutely amazing night out in Taipei with these fellas, I’m spent. Like, I’m talkin ‘2 notches away from braindead’ spent. So, in lieu of said circumstances, I bring you Movie Day here at HHHT.

2 TURNTABLES AND A MICROPHONE: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JAM MASTER JAY (Trailer)

When I first did the original ‘Pair Up’ blog, I never meant to continue it as any sort of ongoing series within the HHHT realm. However, after seeing the rash of recent pair-ups and duets that definitely deserve their honorable mentions, I say, let’s roll with this and see if there’s another Black Star or a Ghost & Rae or a Omarion & Bow Wow in the making.

Wait a minute…..scratch that last one….

D.I.T.C.

Who likes acronyyyyms? D.I.T.C.? That’s always been a favorite of mine. How bout we get a little deeper into it and break out A.G. and O.C.

Yessir. You heard me right. East Coast legends Omar Credle and Andre the Giant, better known as O.C. & A.G. have gone ahead and finally put this classic D.I.T.C. what if? scenario to bed and are slated to release THE OASIS November 24th on Nature Sounds (home of Masta Killa, the Ghost & DOOM project, and oodles more).

If this tune is any indication of how the album’ll turn out, I’m there. I swear to you, neither of them have even come close to losing a step and believe me when I say A.G. keeps getting better and better and better…(See his guest appearance on Dabrye‘s Two/Three)

As I reported a couple months ago, Stones Throw frontliners Madlib & Guilty Simpson will be teaming up to release the highly anticipated O.J. Simpson record either last quarter ’09 or first quarter ’10. Madlib, who has cemented the fact that he has one of the best batting averages for beats ever, matched with Guilty, who’s punchline onslaught can only be compared to an E. Honda attack, will undoubtedly result in something so raw it would be O.D.B. approved. Don’t believe me? Check the freebee. GOOD GAWD I love these guys.

Don’t really need to write all that much about this. Beans is goin at Jay and 50‘s making sure he’s right in the middle of it…as usual.

If Jay eventually decides to respond though, this’ll get hella entertaining. Beans is not only a beast, but this could get extremely personal extremely quick. Do I smell a Pay-Per-View? Y’know 50 probably already has it in the works.

It’s been a long time coming and something that I, as well as many many others have waited years for. We got singles. We got demos. We got guestspots. And thankfully we got Big Black Lincoln. But now, after what seemed to be an endless strings of delays and setbacks, word is Saukrates is on his way back with Season One, and it’s coming soon! Here comes the first street single off the record featuring Andreena Mill.

In the last decade, the once dominant East Coast (Home of everyone from De La Soul to the Notorious B.I.G., the Juice Crew to the Wu-Tang Clan) have struggled to stay on top of the rap food chain as their necessity for cadence and concept has been dwarfed by the Souths ever infectious ‘Bounce’ and ‘Hook’ approach. And well, while living legends Jay-Z and Nas still continue to dominate whenever they appear, the notion of a new East Coast dynasty remains myth like Lebron’s Championship ring.

However, as an over obsessive rap Stan, I’ve noticed something this year that has somehow slipped under the mainstream media’s radar…THE EAST IS BACK! Now I won’t go so far as to say a new Dynasty is on the horizon because quite frankly, outside of a handful of artists, the East is still selling less than the South. But for those who just love themselves some East Coast ish, 2009’s been good to you!

Throughout the history of music there’ve been an abundance of amazing duos. From Eric B. & Rakim to Simon & Garfunkel to Rick James & Eddie Murphy (CLAAASSIC!) it seems that the nature of pairing 2 equally skilled artists together can have an incredibly positive and progressive effect on the quality of the end product. Whether it be because of some intangible chemistry or simply because both artists are doing their best not to be outshone by the other, at very least, duos always give us something to talk about. Well, to continue and contribute to this pattern, here’s a post about a few more new and old classic pairings.

DEF & DOOM

What do you get when you take 2 of Hip-Hop’s most beloved and influential lyricists, both of whom were at one time themselves part of other classic pairings (Black Star & KMD respectively) and you put’em together?

Well…I don’t actually know. But I assume it’d be madness.

Just recently leaked was this youtube footage of Mos Def and what sounds like DOOM behind the camera spitting some potentially new co-written material. As of now, these 2 have never officially released any songs together, but after seeing this, it might be okay to start getting your hopes up.

And if you didn’t see the initial video, this is Mos speaking on the dopeness of DOOM and touching on the genius of De La.

Ghostface has been part of his share of classic pairings. Whether it be himself and the aforementioned DOOM, or with long time Clan member, Raekwon (who he’ll be releasing an album with alongside the rejuvenated Method Man — if you didn’t cop Blackout!2, you need to.), Ghost rarely, if ever, falters on a verse and any rap fan who breathes oxygen knows this.

Well although this isn’t actually a pairing, here’s a clip of Ghost talking about the late-O.D.B. and just what he meant when he said ‘Oooh Baby I like it RAAAW!’

I’m a huge Mos Def fan. I think I’ve spoke on it a couple times before so I won’t go into my usual speal (sp?) but the gist of it is ‘he’s dope’. Like his music or not, the man has stuck to his guns through and through and he seems steady on his course despite tempting offers from Def Jam, Aftermath, etc. etc.

Anyway, Pretty Flaco just dropped his new record and I like it plenty. The production’s not spectacular and the tracks aren’t put together in as lucid a way as Black on Both Sides or even New Danger for that matter, but I can’t stop listening to it. The content is super heavy. The song structures are odd and jarring. He messes around with metre and time signatures. And more than anything, this album is just about Mos Def putting on a clinic as an emcee. Period.

Well…Mos recently showed up on David Letterman with a DJ, Drummer, couple Timpani drums and a Fela Kuti sample in tow. Needless to say…it brought a smile to my face and I hope it does yours.

And if that doesn’t get you goin, how bout Ghostface rippin another classic sample. This guy’s just too damn consistent.

Last week I started on the topic of cats who were over saturating blogs and the market with just a little too much low-effort face time and well, when talking about that type of dude one definitely has to reference Charles Hamilton.

Now I know months back I gave this guy my endorsement, and as an emcee, I still do. However, that being said, homie releases a lot of motionless tunes that just start and end nowhere. And I don’t care how much material you record and how much time you spend sharpening your skills…practicing in public is lame and due to this fact, I haven’t posted anything C-Ham related in quite some time…until now.

MC LYTE! Need I say more?? Word on the street is these 2 NY reps’ll be putting out an EP together, tentatively titled ‘Fluorescent’ and if that’s true…hats off to Sonic for havin some taste and respect. Now if 50 will only give Milk the cheque he deserves for ‘I Got Money’, we’ll be one step closer to goodness. Anyway, check the chunage.

Also involved with that rant last week was the almighty Wu chef, Raekwon.

Yes, I still stand by my statement, and yes, I’m not as excited as I once was about OB4CL2, but gosh darn if this doesn’t get me a little amped. 3 dudes that you just don’t wanna beef with…check the gravy.

As I sit here still in sub zero weather (It’s the effin end of March — What the hell!?), I can only dream about the beauty that is Taiwanese Spring: Hot, but not too hot. Shorts for the boys, panty sized denim for the girls. Xue Hua Bing and 7-11 crawls. It truly is Waakao!

And while I have to unfortunately miss out on all the goodness my oral and ocular cavities would be exposed too (not to mention HHHT’s 7 AND 8 AND Soul Food Fridays — Damn Homie) I take comfort in the fact that the crew continues to demolish your calves and shins with the very best.

So, to ensure everyone’s getting their daily dose of goodies, here’s another small stockpile to tide you over.

“Rap is finally getting the Ray treatment. New Line is developing Straight Outta Compton, an urban drama about N.W.A. (a.k.a. N-ggaz With Attitude), the hip hop group that helped pioneer the gangsta rap movement in the ’80s and early ’90s. The project will chronicle the rise and fall of the rap quartet, founded by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and MC Ren, whose songs were so incendiary (i.e. “F— tha Police”) they were banned from radio playlists but still sold millions of albums. Then came the inevitable fiery breakup, a grudge match between the former bandmates, and Eazy-E’s tragic death due to AIDS. The film’s producers, which include Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow), and Circle of Confusion entertainment, are now actively searching for a director along the lines of Curtis Hanson (8 Mile).”